5 Steps That Can Lead You to Clients

08 Mar 5 Steps That Can Lead You to Clients

So you went to the show and followed those 9 tips we mentioned to you earlier.  If you somehow missed that memo, you can find that article here at: “9 ways to manage leads at a trade show.

You left feeling confident about the progress your team made, but now what?  You might have caught some interest, but can you maintain it?

Here are 5 steps that can take those Leads you found and make them potential Clients.

This process is of course not guaranteed.  However, if done consistently and carefully, it can significantly make a positive difference.

Did you know that less than 70% of exhibiting companies do not know how to successfully follow up after a show, and usually don’t.   That means you are one step ahead of the game.  So let’s get this started.

First, you need to organize your leads  

Hopefully you took notes at the show and kept track of your conversations with everyone you talked too.  If not here are some side tips that can help you with that.

People like feeling important.  Therefore make the message personal.  Start off with their name, and mention something you guys talked about when you met.  Make them feel special, because they are.

Another important thing to do when going through your leads is to label them under different categories.  Categories can be things that signify the highest priority, lowest, 50/50, most interested, unrelated, etc. etc.  That way you know what leads need to be contacted first.

Second, have a follow-up campaign ready to go to post on social media

Do not have this as the only content on your pages.  Just tailor a specific campaign for the individuals that were at the show in order  for them to feel included.  For example, create a post saying, “Did you get a chance to speak with us at the show? If you’d like to learn more….etc. etc.”  You can even include things that may have happened at the show that have nothing to do with your company, but might make your prospects feel more connected to you.  Make sure you continue on with other content as well because you don’t want the people who did not attend the show to feel left out.

Third, contact your leads within 48 hours

Once you have organized your leads and created a priority list, start contacting them right away.  If any prospects mentioned talking over the phone was okay, then by all means call them.  However, send them a follow-up email as well, whether or not you had a chance to speak with them.  If you choose to do email, here are some important things to keep in mind.

Fourth, keep it going with an email campaign

Create several emails that go out enough to remind the prospect of you, but not enough to annoy them to the point of reaching for the unsubscribe button.  It is important to not over do it.  Don’t make it salesy or try to push your product either.

Give them options when you give a call to action.  You want to make sure you reach all different types of prospects at different levels.  For example, if you say something like… “request your quote here…” but someone is not ready for that, what else can you offer them?

Don’t let it be the same campaign for every show.  Make sure to switch it up a little while including the name of the show, and altering the first paragraph.  Design your email to drive action, not just preach all the great things about your product.

Assign a personal rep to the email campaign.  It makes a customer feel more comfortable when they know who they are talking to.  Rather than wondering if it is reaching anyone at all.

Last but not least, evaluate your progress.

This step is so important, and a lot of times overlooked.  After the campaigns are complete collect your data on them.  When you are trying to discover whether the event was worth the investment, make sure you research the data that is related to it.  Be careful not to mix up any prospects or social media posts that are from something else.

Once you’ve conducted your research take a good hard look at what you did right, and what you did wrong.  Meet with your team and find areas where you can improve upon.  Redesign your campaign or tradeshow walls if need be, and start planning for the next trade show if such an event proved to be a big success.